Changes at troubled Harris Co. jail already under way

Sheriff has 45 days to make case on jail

The Justice Department found that prisoners’ constitutional rights are violated because of poor health care and other problems at the Harris County Jail.

The Justice Department found that prisoners’ constitutional rights are violated because of poor health care and other problems at the Harris County Jail.

Photo: Mayra Beltran, Chronicle

Photo: Mayra Beltran, Chronicle

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The Justice Department found that prisoners’ constitutional rights are violated because of poor health care and other problems at the Harris County Jail.

The Justice Department found that prisoners’ constitutional rights are violated because of poor health care and other problems at the Harris County Jail.

Photo: Mayra Beltran, Chronicle

Changes at troubled Harris Co. jail already under way

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The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has 45 days to convince federal officials it is making progress on protecting inmates’ rights at its troubled jail and avoid a lawsuit to force improvements.

The Department of Justice last week sent a report to county officials detailing the findings of its 15-month investigation into conditions of the Harris County Jail, where investigators found inmates’ constitutional rights had been violated by guards’ excessive use of force and poor medical and mental health care. Investigators described the number of deaths at the jail as “alarming.”

On Tuesday, county officials downplayed the findings and instead focused on changes made since federal investigators toured the jail last year.

“Actually, if you read the report, it is fairly positive,” County Judge Ed Emmett said. “It has some episodic events but it does not show a pattern of problems.”

The 24-page report outlines systemic problems such as a failure to follow up on sick inmates or to ban practices such as hog-tying inmates. It describes the deaths or injuries of more than 20 inmates at the jail in 2007 and 2008. Among them are inmates who died after being sent back to their cell without medical treatment and others, in the midst of mental breakdowns, who waited days for psychiatric attention.

A spokesman for Sheriff Adrian Garcia pointed to progress in several areas of the jail, including the introduction of a new policy for when and how officers can use force against inmates.

“The sheriff has explicitly (forbidden) hog-tying of inmates,” Keir Murray said. “And, we have been able to eliminate the backlog of inmates waiting for medical treatment.”

Yet, some issues remain unaddressed. Chief among them is crowding.

“Capacity is a major problem and it will continue to be,” Murray said.

Garcia has said he would like to see the county build a new jail. He has not specified where he would like to see it built or when but has said it eventually will be necessary.

Commissioners, who watched voters two years ago reject plans for a new jail, have been more cautious. They have said the county first should try other methods for reducing the jail population such as pretrial diversion and changes to bonding policies.

“A new jail is something that is being discussed, but we need to see how the diversion program will work,” Emmett said.